Ernst Uhrlau (born 7 December 1946) was the President of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Bundesnachrichtendienst The Federal Intelligence Service (German: ; , BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinate to the Chancellor's Office. The BND headquarters is located in central Berlin and is the world's largest intelligence head ...

(BND). After attending

Gymnasium Eppendorf The Gymnasium Eppendorf is a grammar school in Hamburg, Germany, established in 1904. History The school was established in 1904 as a school for boys, Realschule in Eppendorf, in new buildings erected on the corner of Hegestraße and Hegestieg. ...

, he graduated from

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...

with specialization in political science. In 1981, Uhrlau became an assistant to the Head of the Department for Protection of the Constitution of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Christian Lochte, and in 1991 he took Lochte’s place. From 1996-98, Ernst Uhrlau was the Chief of

Hamburg Police The Hamburg Police (german: Hamburger Polizei or ) is the German Landespolizei force for the city-state of Hamburg. Law enforcement in Germany is divided between federal and state (Land) agencies. A precursor to the agency, the ''Polizei-Behörd ...

. In 1998, Uhrlau was appointed a Coordinator of the Intelligence Community in the office of the Chancellor. On 1 December 2005, he was appointed to the post of the head of the BND. The most outstanding of Uhrlau’s achievements in the post of Intelligence Community Coordinator was organizing the exchange between

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the Lebanese Hezbollah of the bodies of captured Israeli soldiers for captured militants in January 2004. In the BND documents this operation received the name "The Blue-White Sky Action" ("Die Aktion Himmel blau-weiß"). During its realization Uhrlau had numerous contacts with representatives of both parties and repeated visits to Beirut, and he proved himself, above all, an outstanding diplomat. It is believed Uhrlau was a mediator between Hezbollah and Israel for the return in 2008 of the remains of two Israeli soldiers,

Ehud Goldwasser Ehud "Udi" Goldwasser ( he, אהוד גולדווסר; 18 July 1975 – 12 July 2006) was an Israeli soldier who was abducted in Israel by Hezbollah along with Eldad Regev on 12 July 2006, sparking the 2006 Lebanon War. His rank was First Sergeant ...

and

Eldad Regev Eldad Regev ( he, אלדד רגב, 16 August 1980 – 12 July 2006) was an Israeli soldier abducted by Hezbollah fighters along with Ehud Goldwasser on 12 July 2006 in Israel near the Lebanese border, sparking the 2006 Lebanon War. His rank ...

, whose kidnapping triggered the 2006 Lebanon war.

References

External links

Castling Inside the German Intelligence Community Management

German Intelligence Between Israel and Hezbollah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uhrlau, Ernst 1946 births Living people German police chiefs People of the Federal Intelligence Service Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians University of Hamburg alumni